SweetGAINS in Plant Breeding: Recent Episodes
International Potato Center
The Sweetpotato Genetic Advances and Innovative Seed Systems (SweetGAINS) project aims to modernize Africa’s current systems for sweetpotato breeding and early generation seed production. The resulting improved varieties and their rapid dissemination and adoption will provide a strong foundation for better nutrition and diversified diets among rural and urban households across the continent.
Orange-fleshed sweetpotato breeder and World Food Prize winner Dr. Maria Isabel Andrade shares with us what she loves about sweetpotato and what goes into developing climate-resilient varieties.
Jolien Swanckaert is a sweetpotato breeder based out of Uganda. She’s part of the SweetGAINS team revolutionizing plant breeding with cross-team collaboration and information that helps put the needs of men, women, seed multipliers, and market demands front and center of breeding efforts. Jolien shares insights on how information is driving the development of new varieties.
Kwame Ogero is a seed systems specialist working for the Sweetpotato Genetic Advancement and Innovative Seed Systems (Sweet GAINs) project in Tanzania. He shares with us the innovations taking place at the last mile to accelerate and streamline the process of getting improved varieties of sweetpotato into farmers' hands.
Luka Wanjohi is a regional senior knowledge management associate at the International Potato Center working with the Sweetpotato Genetic Advancement and Innovative Seed Systems (Sweet GAINs) project in Uganda. He shares with us how statistics are fueling breakthroughs in plant breeding by streamlining how information is collected and shared.
Dr. Craig Yencho is program leader of the Sweetpotato and Potato breeding and genetics programs at North Carolina State University. He shares with us how studying the sweetpotato genome is leading to breakthroughs in plant breeding.
Dr. Bernard Yada is a senior research officer with Uganda’s National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) He shares with us how partnering with the Sweet GAINS project is fueling his research and accelerating the process of breeding sweetpotato varieties with market and farmer-preferred traits.